New Delhi, July 14 -- BEIJING - China's total merchandise trade reached a first-half record of 25.47 trillion yuan, equivalent to $3.75 trillion, Xinhua reported Tuesday, citing the General Administration of Customs - a 16.9 percent gain over the same period last year and the first time the figure has breached 25 trillion yuan in any January-to-June period.

The data lands on a morning when US forces are trading strikes with Iran across the Gulf, a conflict rattling energy markets and redirecting container traffic away from Persian Gulf lanes. China's export machine, confronted with US tariffs that have climbed through successive escalation rounds and a disrupted global shipping grid, is not showing either strain in the headline figures....